Transhumance

An age-old pastoral tradition

Every year, from early June to late October, the transhumance of the herds marks the passage of time in the Cathar Pyrenees. In spring, farmers send their herds to graze at higher altitudes, enjoying the fat grass and freedom of the meadows. They come back down with the first cold spells. Transhumance is a thousand-year-old tradition in the French mountains. In the Cathar Pyrenees, you’ll see cows, ewes and horses set off to live for a few months in semi-freedom, under the watchful eye of mountain shepherds. During a transhumance, experience the daily life of cowboys… On horseback!

Sylvain Salaméro

I've been raising horses for a very long time, but transhumance remains a very special emotion... It's a unique experience, all the more so as there are few regions in Europe where horses can live in an almost natural environment.

Imagine following the transhumance of the Mérens and Castillon horses as they pass through the villages of the Pyrenees… Transhumance is the seasonal movement of herds between an area where the animals can feed (the estive, for example) and their place of departure. Every spring, the ascent to the mountain pastures is a celebration shared by farmers, shepherds, locals, hikers(on foot and on horseback) and many tourists, who sometimes travel from abroad to discover this unique tradition. In October, the drive back down to the farms, while more discreet, is also more lively, as the horses have gained in strength and vivacity! But to experience the transhumance as a rider, up or down, remains an unforgettable experience, even if it is reserved for more experienced riders used to outdoor riding!

Pastoralism

Living tradition

Since the dawn of time, in the Pyrenean mountains, flocks have left the farm to go to the summer pastures in spring and come back down before winter (end of October). While some make the journey by truck from the farm to the bottom of the estive, today many breeders are reviving the tradition and taking their animals – Tarasconnais ewes, Gascon cows and Mérens and Castillon horses – on foot or on horseback to the green pastures and freedom.

Estivation is a way of lightening the herders’ workload and saving the farm’s resources (which will be used to feed the animals in winter), while offering the livestock the fat lawns and abundant grass of the mountains and a life very close to their natural state.

The mares and their unweaned foals are given priority and enjoy the summer pastures from June to October. Between 1,500 and 2,500 meters above sea level, the herds graze, live and gallop to the rhythm of the natural elements… A dream life!

If a stallion joins the herd of mares during their summering, in October it’s usually pregnant mares who come down from the summering. The young males (from one to three years old), not yet trained, leave for dedicated summer pastures.

During these months of freedom, the summer horses will see only the shepherd who watches over them, the occasional farmer and the hikers who pass through their pasture!

At horse's pace

Like cowboys

While some follow the transhumance on foot, in short stages, the riders cover the 80 to 100 km following the herd. Each evening, a stopover is planned in a gîte, as the nights are cool. Over a period of 4 to 5 days, from village to village, from road to trail, then from valley to mountain, they lead the herd to its summer pasture or, in October, the other way around.

The climb is calmer, because in June, the youngsters accompanying their mothers are still small, and the pace is set by the foals. They are guided and accompanied to the bottom of the estive where they will take up their summer quarters before returning down in autumn.

For the October transhumance, the breeders will “pick up” the herds in the estive: it’s very physical and quite technical. The terrain is rugged, high mountain, and you can endanger the herd if you make the wrong gestures: it’s a job for professionals, even if the horses often anticipate the arrival of the cooler weather and come back down. Once at the bottom of the estive, they are brought back to the farms. The descent from the summer pastures is more athletic. The foals are already several months old and very lively. It’s almost like herding a herd, and you experience almost what the cowboys of North America experienced. You have to be able to react quickly to bring back a runaway.

Summer horses

Back to nature

Mountain pastures shape horses. They are reliable, sure-footed, robust, sober, used to the outdoors and perfectly socialized. These months of semi-liberty in an almost natural environment transform them, even if they don’t become wild again. Mérens and Castillon horses are transhumant breeds, perfectly suited to this type of breeding, and have been selected since the dawn of time to withstand the extremes of temperature, snow and storms in the wilderness, as well as all the conditions found in mountainous areas over a thousand meters above sea level.

Estivation transforms horses, and as a breeder, I wouldn’t change this breeding method for anything in the world.

Emotion

Horse happiness

“For us breeders, every time we take our horses on a transhumance, it’s always a very special experience! We feel the well-being of the animals. It’s one of the extremely positive things about being a breeder, in a rather tough job, that nourishes us and makes us choose this profession.
When we let them loose in the mountains, they tell us how happy they are to be there. Each time, there’s this moment of joy, a few happy stampedes, then the horses put their noses to the ground because they’ve found the good mountain grass, and the herd spreads out and disperses into the jasse (large clearings where the animals rest).
This is the emotion we share with those who accompany the transhumance.

All aboard!

Horseback riding

The Cathar Pyrenees are the perfect place for horseback riding. In the land of the Merens horse, there’s no shortage of places to gallop and trails to trot. At horse...